Reliable ZigBee coordinator?

Setup, Configuration and Use Beginners
1

I’m trying out OpenHab2 after running into problems with ZigBee devices using a HUSBZB-1 controller and other home automation software. Strange interaction between controlling software and Docker, causing it to lock up, no amount of restarting or even recreating the container would fix the problem, appears to be a known issue…

With OpenHab2 I’m having problems again with ZigBee, first (Sengled) bulb paired fine, cannot pair any of the others, even after factory resetting them multiple times. I’m awaiting a second coordinator and a CC2531 to sniff the ZigBee traffic for better bug reporting.

I see others are having problems too: Zigbee devices offline/don't work after reboot on pi running OH2

So my question is, is anyone using multiple ZigBee things with good reliability? Which coordinator/hub and devices do you use?

The Z-Wave ecosystem appears to be much more reliable, have no problems pairing and operating devices consistently. Unfortunately many (cheaper) devices are only available in ZigBee.

2

I have the Telegesis stick and Hue and Osram lamps that run smoothly. These LED dimmers are running very well:
“https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01AALEYR8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1”
“https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B076K6VJ8G/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1”
The Philips switch works only for on / off, dimming is not recognized:

I can not recommend these components, which at least cause problems for me:
Philips Hue Motion Sensor -
it is recognized twice, which leads to offline again and again.
“https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B077G23JBF/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1” - unreliable, but can also be due to my device.
“https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B072QSCVS4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1” - is detected, but does not work (ZigBee 3.0?).

You write that there are cheap components only in ZigBee, that may be the problem, the “cheap” components I mean.

3

Please be a little careful - these devices are probably not really ZigBee - ie, they are probably not compliant to the ZigBee requirements, and may not work properly. We see this sort of thing with the cheap Xiaomi devices where they do not conform to standards and are difficult to use.

4

I have a Linear HUSBZ-1 plugged into dedicated PC running Debian 9. I have three smartthings sensors and an iris sensor (cheapo from big box store) all running very reliably. It is a small system and the hardware is a little overkill but cures a lot of the problems that I read about with running openhab on a small platform as the link op posted. (plus you can do other stuff) Reliability was paramount to investing further in the entire project and response is really great. I forget what a light switch is for and wonder at how all the associated switch wiring in your average house will seem so antiquated in a few years

5

Just to close the loop on this, made some progress. After sniffing the ZigBee traffic and looking at the messages, it was clear 3/4 bulbs were just not sending anything at all on startup, which lead me to believe they aren’t completely factory reset.

I ordered a Sengled hub to connect them to in hopes of upgrading their firmware to see if matters improves. While resetting and joining the bulbs to this hub I realized that even though they blink after on/off 10 times, they sometimes just keep blinking indefinitely. After multiple attempts, sometimes they blink exactly 5 times and stop, then they are actually fully factory reset and had no problems joining them to HUSBZB-1 or the Sengled hub.

Somehow I lost all my z-wave things after unplugging and replugging but that’s another story :slight_smile:

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